An Afghan native is finding out just how long the arm of American law is — and how long a criminal record can have consequences.
Fifteen years after being convicted of attempted murder in a stabbing attack on his sister, an Afghanistan native has been arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Rochester, New York.
And he could be heading back to the country he left more than two decades ago.
ATTEMPTED HOMICIDE & FELONY ASSAULT
We arrested Afghan criminal illegal alien Waheed Allah Mohammad during a targeted operation on New Year’s Day in Rochester, NY.
He has a final removal order and was previously sentenced to 10 years in prison for his 2008 attempted homicide… pic.twitter.com/v63OUEs1Ud
— U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (@ICEgov) January 10, 2026
According to a news release from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 39-year-old Waheed Allah Mohammad was taken into custody on Jan. 1.
He’d entered the United States legally in 2004, the news release stated.
In 2008, he was arrested at the age of 22 on an attempted murder charge after stabbing his then-19-year-old sister multiple times during an argument over her lifestyle.
He called her a “bad Muslim girl,” according to the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle because of the way she dressed and acted.
He was convicted of attempted murder in 2009 and sentenced to 10 years, the newspaper reported. At his sentencing, the sister he attacked forgave him, and blamed the violence on Mohammad’s experience with the Taliban Afghanistan.
“The truth of the matter is that he did not take my life, and I do not wish to take his away from him,” she said, according to the Democrat & Chronicle’s largely sympathetic account.
Mohammad’s family told the newspaper that a federal immigration judge in 2012 had granted him a deferral from deportation under the United Nations Convention Against Torture.
That deferral apparently allowed Mohammad to live in the U.S. in freedom since his release from his prison sentence on the attempted murder charge in 2016.
But ICE is pouring cold water on that position.
“This criminal illegal alien tried to kill his own sister,” ICE Director Todd M. Lyons said in the news release.
“A court convicted him of first-degree attempted murder and first-degree assault, then sentenced him to 10 years in prison and five years of supervision. When we say ICE is arresting the ‘worst of the worst,’ this is exactly what we mean.
“We’re conducting targeted enforcement operations to arrest and remove convicted criminals like Mohammad who pose clear threats to their families, communities and states.”
According to the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, Mohammad — popularly known as “Jay” — has been building a career as the co-owner, with his brother Reza, of two restaurants in the Rochester area.
They purchased one, Henry’s Convenience Market, in 2020 and converted it to an eatery focused on Afghan food that’s “halal” — meeting Islamic dietary requirements — in 2023. Last year, the newspaper reported, he opened Jay’s Halal Cuisine in Henrietta, a town just outside Rochester.
“He is a changed person,” Reza Mohammad told the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle.
“That incident, he will never forget obviously. But everyone is on the good side now.”
That “everyone” does not include President Donald Trump’s Department of Homeland Security or ICE.
WORST OF THE WORST.@EROBuffalo arrested Waheed Allah Mohammad, an illegal alien from Afghanistan convicted of attempted murder after brutally stabbing his 19-year-old sister multiple times.
Waheed Allah Mohammad is the definition of the worst of the worst. He is exactly the… https://t.co/HUwj3475Ss
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) January 14, 2026
“Waheed Allah Mohammad was given a golden opportunity to lawfully reside in the United States, but instead of making the most of his American dream, he decided to break our laws by violently attacking his own sister,” ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Buffalo acting Field Office Director Tammy Marich said in the ICE news release.
“As a convicted violent offender, Mohammad represents the worst of the worst and is exactly the kind of alien that ICE Buffalo seeks to remove from our New York neighborhoods. ICE Buffalo will continue to prioritize the safety of our American communities by arresting and removing criminal alien offenders from our streets.”
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.
